A location-based service (LBS) is an information and entertainment service that makes use of the geographical position of one or more mobile devices. Some applications involves tracking the geographic location of one or more mobile devices. In order for a communication device to track the location of a mobile device, the communication device receives location information from which the geographical location of the mobile device can be determined. The location information can be generated by the mobile device using GPS technology or by other means. The communication device can receive location information on an ongoing basis in order to keep up to date on the geographical location of the mobile device.
In order to accurately track the geographical location of the mobile device, location information might be provided rather frequently, for example every few seconds. Unfortunately, this can involve a lot of messaging. Excessive messaging can be costly in terms of network utilization and power consumption for the mobile device. If the communication device performing the tracking is also mobile, then power consumption for the communication device is also a concern.
This problem can be worsened if the communication device is tracking more than one mobile device. Tracking the geographic location of several different mobile devices increases the number of messages involved.